Welcome to Olin College of Engineering

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Welcome to Olin College of Engineering! Our campus is located in Needham, Massachusetts, a suburb 14 miles west of Boston. Our proximity to Boston, as well as our partnerships with nearby Babson College, Wellesley College and Brandeis University, place us in one of the world's most bustling educational and technological hubs. Olin's main campus buildings curve around this central green space, known as "the Oval." From the robotics lab to the residence halls, our facilities are as integral a part of the Olin community as the people who use them. We place great importance on communal spaces, which encourage team-based learning. Our interdisciplinary, project-based curriculum combines entrepreneurship and liberal arts with rigorous science, technology, math and engineering.

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Olin's curriculum is hands-on, collaborative and focused on solving real-world problems. Our four-story Academic Center, or AC, is where students take classes, conduct research, pursue academic and personal projects. Here you'll find fabrication spaces like the Machine Shop, mini Metal Shop and Wood Shop, as well as stockrooms of tools and materials for students to use. The design studios on the upper floors are Post-it® filled wonderlands where student teams in classes like User-Oriented Collaborative Design can put their ideas on the walls for the entire semester. The AC also houses the Robotics, Biology, Chemistry, Materials Science and Electrical Labs, plus research spaces for faculty, students and senior capstone teams.

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The Large Project Building, or LPB, is a space where students are really able to "do something" big on campus. The LPB provides building spaces for large-scale student projects and project teams like Formula SAE, Baja SAE, Design Build Fly, International Aerial Robotics Competition, Rocketry. The LPB is also used for robotics classes and houses large robotics research projects as well as a few senior capstone projects. It's common to find students or groups working on personal projects in the LPB that don't fit in other spaces on campus. It has a testing pool and a painting and composites bay. Olin's forge is also right outside.

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The Weissman Foundry opened in 2018 at Babson College, directly adjacent to the Olin campus. It is open to all students at Babson, Olin, Wellesley colleges, and is dedicated to fostering creative and collaborative projects. The Foundry is an entrepreneurial think tank, an artist's studio, a performance space, a media lab, a wood shop – and your 10,000 square foot arena to work on any project you want. Here you can connect with peers from across disciplines in the BOW Three College Collaboration to bring your ideas to life! Through the BOW Collaboration, Olin students can also take classes, join clubs, attend events at Babson and Wellesley.

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The Campus Center is where students eat, socialize, access the student support offices available on campus. On the ground floor is our dining hall, where all Olin students have unlimited access to grab a buffet meal or a snack whenever they want during hours of operation. On the lower level of the Campus Center you'll find the mail room, a jam room for musicians, the Pool Room, which has been a gathering place for Olin students since the early days of the college. The upper floors of the Campus Center contain offices like Post-Graduate Planning, Student Affairs and Resources, Diversity and Inclusion.

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All Olin students live on campus in our residence halls, West Hall and East Hall. Students can live in double rooms or suites, all of which come furnished and include private bathrooms, a microwave, fridge room-specific temperature controls. The residence halls also feature shared kitchens, common lounge spaces, workout rooms, laundry rooms bike storage. Resident Resources (R2s), Olin's version of the Resident Advisor, live on each floor. The R2s aren't rule enforcers. Instead, they are there to support students. One R2 is always "on call" to handle emergencies, and all are familiar with Olin's available resources. They're also really fun to hang out with!

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The Great Lawn is the expansive outdoor space just outside the residence halls. In nice weather, the Great Lawn is often filled with students playing games, relaxing working together in the fresh air. When it snows, you may see students building snowmen or structurally sound igloos. If you look down the Great Lawn, past the road, you'll see athletic fields where Olin's two official club teams, Ultimate Frisbee and soccer, practice. Olin students can also join intramural and club sports at Babson College and Wellesley College. The woods beyond the athletic fields is called Parcel B. It contains hiking and running trails and test tracks used by project teams.

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The Library embodies Olin's innovative approach to education. It's a dynamic, adaptable community space where students can work in open lounge areas or private team rooms. In addition to books, students can check out power tools, video production equipment and more! The Library is also a makerspace with a 3D printing lab, vinyl cutter, screen printer sewing machines for students to prototype academic and personal projects. Community events are regularly hosted in the Library, and every Wednesday night a student group called SLAC (Stay Late and Create), sponsors events where students can learn new skills, get help with projects, hear from invited speakers just hang out!

Welcome to Olin College of Engineering

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Academic Center

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Large Project Building

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Weissman Foundry

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Campus Center

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Residence Halls

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Great Lawn

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Library

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